John Zimmer Says Lyft Will Work With Sidecar, Uber To Fight Regulators In Wake Of LA Cease & Desist

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Lyft co-founder John Zimmer says the company is trying to work with other ride sharing companies to fight regulators after Los Angeles served Lyft, Uber, and Sidecar with cease and desist letters yesterday.

“Do you envision partnering with competitors like Sidecar or Uber to promote and defend ride sharing as a legal alternative to the taxi monopoly? As a driver for Sidecar, I’m continually disheartened by the lack of cooperation which could be such a huge boon for both the ride sharing organizations and consumers,” a commenter asked Zimmer in his Reddit “Ask Me Anything.”

“We’d love to work together with Sidecar and Uber on this front and have initiated multiple meetings to do just that,” Zimmer wrote. “Since Sidecar’s model is most similar to ours, we have found common ground and are beginning to do more work together here. In full agreement that on this issue its in all our best interest to work together!”

All three companies said yesterday that they will continue to operate in Los Angeles while they sort things out with regulators.

“We’ve seen this before and historically it has made our community stronger as they come together to demonstrate to local officials why platforms like Lyft matter,” Zimmer wrote in a response to a question about the cease and desist letters. “We will continue to operate as we work with local officials to understand their concerns. We currently have a state-wide operating agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission who has reviewed our insurance and background check process.”

In classic Reddit fashion, Zimmer also answered more lighthearted questions, choosing waffles over pancakes and explaining a bit about Lyft’s pink mustaches.

“The main difference to me with Lyft is the sense of community and social experience. The pink mustache, fist bump and strict screening have fostered a strong sense of community with many stories of new friends, discovered jobs and even some Lyft hugs after a tough break up,” he said.

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BioJohn Zimmer is the co-founder and President of Lyft, the on-demand ridesharing platform, that was founded in 2007 with Zimride as its first of two products built to create a more social, sustainable and affordable transportation system.
John’s interest in peer-to-peer transportation began at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration. Upon learning that only 20% of seats in cars on highways are …